People ~ Making A Difference   Children & Equine Related Therapies   Our Gift From The Horses   Women & Horses   Heart & Stroke Foundation Team Spirit 2008 Award   Equine Health & Rehabilitation   Wild Horses    Equinisity   The Ten Commandments For Horses    Silver's Story ~ Dedication For Thoroughbred's Across North America

Today, more than ever in these uncertain and changing times, we are becoming more disconnected with nature and the natural beauty we have surrounding us. Being around horses has had a profound effect on many lives. They have helped us to re-connect with nature while helping us to balance our lives while giving unconditional care, love and attention. This page is dedicated to all horses and all the many different ways they enhance out lives. We invite you to contact us and share with others a special horse that has made a difference in your life.

Horses in our lives today are no longer being noted as our beasts of burden, rather they have taken on a new role in many peoples lives. Horses have paved our way to freedom as we know it today and have once again reinvented themselves for us into yet another serviceable role.  Although horses are still playing active roles in competition and sport, many horses today are being noted for their special gifts of helping people and are used for therapeutic riding, equine facilitated therapies and more ~ today  many horses are even being noted as Teachers! 

Because of the dramatically changing times and the difficulties many horses are enduring today, partially due to the economic turndown, Voice For The Horse was created to help support horses with the purpose being to promote all it is they do for us! It does not matter the sport in which they excel or if they are just a pastured friend, we are here to promote the horse, the industries in which they serve us but most importantly of all, to help make a difference in the lives of horses who have been put at risk due to neglectful and abusive handling and other misfortunes. Whether you are a horse owner or not, we warmly invite you to wonder through the pages of our web site to enlighten your hearts further about your love and appreciation of the horse! 

 Horses Serving Us In Our Lives

Lauren Barwick on the set of "Heartland".

Miami ~ When rescuers found the horse he was tied to a palm tree on a Northwest Miami~Dade County farm where animals die for meat: a skinny, diseased wreck with rotting hooves and hide. Only the tattoo inside his upper lip hinted at his regal bloodline: descent : Freedom's Flight, descentant of Triple Crown winners Seattle Slew and Secretariat. "Anything that could he wrong with a horse was wrong with him, said Richard Cuoto now Freedom's Flight new owner. "He's a fighter, but he had his head down like "just shoot me". Freedom's Flight's descent from the thoroughbred circuit's pampered paddocks into equine hell took just three months after a mishap at Gulfstream Park. It's not possible to document each step of his sad journey, but Couto, a board member of the South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal's believes he was destined for the underground horse meat market. Read more 

News Update ~ Oct 11, 2010 The Movie "The Secretariat" is in Theaters  Today!! Click Here For Details

Click here to learn more about  the South Florida SPCA's amazing dedication for the prevention of cruelty for equines: we understand that the laws are all different in the states and provinces across North America in regards to the seizure and care for horses that suffer neglect and abuse but what an example the South Florida SPCA and Richard Cuoto in particular, have set as an example to what is possible! 

Special Feature ~ The World's Smartest Horse!

"Captivating!," Enchanting!," Incredible!" - are all being used to describe Lukas, a seventeen year old off-the-track rescued Thoroughbred owned and trained by Karen Murdock.  Murdock's specialty is the ability to form an extraordinary connection with horses by using trick training and games designed to buid confidence, focus, willingness, performance and trust.  Her success is evident with Lukas - he gladly performs passage, Spanish Walk, bow, curtsy, rear and Jambet all at liberty.  Astonishingly, he also spells, counts, identifies shapes, discriminates colors and grasps the concepts of same/different, proportion and absentness. Click here to learn more about Lukas  

Commemorating the 2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver, B.C. Canada

We would like to share with you the RCMP Musical Ride Performance, who thanks to our Mayor Dianne Watts of Surrey B.C. made it possible for their attendance at this most outstanding engagement; the 2010 Winter Olympics! The crowd enjoyed the show immensely and so did we! Although the following You Tube video is not at Holland Park in Surrey, the show appears to be the same type of venue. Enjoy!

Please note: The RCMP Musical Ride Horses have a great example set by their caretakers the life that all horses are deserving of. These horses are bred specially for their work, they are given the time to fully develop before taking on this work and when retirement comes their way, they are placed in forever loving homes. They work for a living, are treated very well in the stabled conditions they call home when on the road and are very gentle horses, so gentle that children can pet them after performances. They appeared to be appreciative of the attention they recieve and seem to always want more...based from the heated barn experienced I had that was provided for them on the cold and blustery day I attended their show! 

"If you talk to the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them you will not know them and what you do not know, you will fear. What one fears, one destroys." - Chief Dan George

Seabiscuit - (May 23, 1933—May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred race horse in the United States. Seabiscuit was one of the most remarkable Thoroughbred racehorses in history. From 1936 to 1940, Americans thronged to racetracks to watch the small, ungainly racehorse become a champion. He had an awkward gait but ran with dominating speed; he was mild-mannered yet fiercely competitive; and he was stubborn until he became compliant. His inferior performances as a young racehorse led to later dominance on the turf.

A thought to ponder: was it Seabiscuit himself, TB horse racing or Seabiscuit's jockey Red Pollard that rocked the hearts of America during this time of depression?Seabiscuit vs War Admiral - 1938 Match Race

Barbaro - (April 29, 2003 - Jan 29, 2007) After Barbaro suffered his fateful injury on Saturday, ABC News correspondent Vicki Mabrey couldn't help but notice the sour mood in the grandstand. "People cried, they gasped, they hugged those around them, they asked why it had to happen and if Barbaro would live," she said. "Count me in on all of the above." we all can easily relate to his story. He was injured without warning, but those around him reacted quickly to save him. It was scary; it was heroic. Why so gripping? As the events of Sept. 11, 2001, revealed so clearly, many fear that tragedy can strike at any moment. Barbaro's accident highlights the chaos we all fear. "It brings home to people how precarious our existence and safety is," said Dr. Redford Williams, Duke University's psychiatry director.

Barbaro, yet another one of our beloved equines, teaching us once again about the gift of this life and how quickly it can change, forever. I believe that Barbaro's legacy to all will be that  we remember "who we are" and how precious each moment of our time is here. U-Tube Tribute To Barbaro - The Race Horse That Never Gave Up!

Another Postitive Shift For Horses at Risk ~ Movie producer Sheri Bylander created HOMESTRETCH, a documentary that shows first nd the positive benefits of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation's correctional based programs. 

Personal Stories of Horses Making a Difference 

Courage Life and Love - Jimmy & Yvonne  I am certain today the inner strength I developed over these past many years would not have become so strong, had I not this incredible horse in my life to teach me. I know that I came to love this horse so much, I was willing to sacrifice many things; in return he gave me his friendship, trust and dedication to me as a partner in his life. Each time I would make a decision (on his behalf), he would acknowledge me and let me know in his suddle ways, that I had done well (or not so well from time to time!). Learning how to stand up for him during times of challenge (as we often went against the grain transitioning to more natural equine care), by following my gut feelings and intuition, also began an interesting parallel in my own life. My personal strength developed in ways that I would never have imagined. Standing up for my own personal beliefs, accepting that I did not have to be one from the same flock of others, that I could be just me, in peace, has been the biggest gift of all.

Voice For The Horse has come across a very special person that is also promoting the equestrian industry. We would like to introduce you to Samantha Penley, the creator of The Horsepedia. The Horsepedia’s mission is to provide horse-lovers like you with an entertaining and informative website that promotes responsible and natural horsemanship. Their goal is to strengthen horse communities all over the world by supporting organizations and people that make a difference. Click here to meet Samantha

 April 28, 2008: Kimber and her horse Kat rode west from Trenton, Nova Scotia with a goal of the Pacific Coast of Canada, 6,000+km and 5-6 months down the road. Her driving inspiration is Barbara Kingscote's 1949 journey from Mascouche, Quebec to Vancouver, British Columbia. Is it still possible for a lone woman in her twenties and her horse to make it across Canada almost purely on character and the hospitality of the Canadian spirit? Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History is two Canadian women, two generations apart, going against convention with a unique, yet shared sense of adventure, a simple equine mode of transportation and, most importantly, a desire to discover the Canada of their day.

We met Kimber today (Oct 3, 2008), one day away from her destination which was an undisclosed location on a beach in White Rock! Congratulations to both her and Katrina!

In July of 2000 I had a pacemaker implanted in my chest to correct an electrical block between the upper & lower halves of my heart. The day I returned home from surgery I went to visit my horse Kristal Dar Shamus. Dar began to muzzle the medicinal smell emanating from the left side of my chest. I put my shirt aside for him to further analyze the area of surgery. I am a very slight person so the stainless steel pacemaker sits very close to the surface of my body. I have no words to describe adequately the profound look on his face; it was like he knew there had been a shift in my energy. Was it the medicinal smell that caught his attention or did he recognize the electro-magnetic field? Today Dar continues to be sensitive to this area.

By: Brenda Anonymous

In 2002 I was diagnosed with clinical depression. Since then life has been up and down and all around. It's hard to get into doing things and I stay home more. Early 2005 I found out I was mis-diagnosed and am actually bi polar. The only thing I would do was go see my horses Simon and Nicky. They are the only ones who understand. Even close friends and family don't want to hear anything about it - but they do and help me heal. I can tell by the gentle look in Simon's eyes that he loves me so much, and helps with everything he can. Even though I love it, if I never make it to grand prix, I'd rather spend my life helping people and horses in natural ways. It is much more rewarding in the end. If I didn't have them, I wouldn't be here today.

On New Year's day, 2003 I went to go see Simon - first day of the new year as well as the better part of my life. We were a total match and I know he was the one for me! When I picked him up I saw he had a quarter crack in his hoof. No problem really, we'd just have to fix it up. It took us over a year to get it all grown out. We went through a lot of abcesses with the quarter crack blowing out a lot and at one time Simon was 3 legged because of it. He was hurting so much that he layed down on my lap in his stall for hours. Most people wouldn't have taken a horse home with a quarter crack, but if nobody takes home the ones who need help, how will they get it? Simon and I have such a precious and special bond that will never be broken!!!!

By: Laura Myers

Just a Horse ~ From time to time people say to me "it's just a horse" or the cost involved for "just a horse". Some of my proudest moments have come about with just a horse. Many hours have passed and the only company was just a horse but I did not once feel slighted. Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by just a horse and in tough days of darkness the gentle touch of a horse gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day. Just a horse brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust and pure unbridled joy. Just a horse brings out the compassion and the patience that makes me a better person. Just a horse is the thing that keeps me from being more than just a woman but that of a fulfilled human being.

By: Anny Desbiens 

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Voice For The Horse represents all horses, it does not matter the breed, color, size nor be it a wild or domesticated horse, they are all special to us!